Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-11-15

i SSsS ~ 40
This forenoon between the hours Of 8
and u was fixed by Judge Cassius Foster
as the time for the execution of Lee Mosier~
All efforts to save his life having so far
proved in vain it now appears that he must
pay the penalty for his crime. Should,
then, the execution take place as an
nounced it will be the first that under
sanction Of law has occurred in the state
for the past nineteen years.
The last hanging will perhaps be remem-
bered by the older residents of the state as
occurring at Burlingame, when Moses
Bates paid with his life the penalty for
killing Abraham Polly. The circum-
stances of the crime as gathered from the
trial appeared to be these: Bates, who
was arrested for horse stealing and was, in
the absence of any jail or proper place of
confinement, put in irons and guarded by
Polly an aged man. The old gentleman
was sitting down holding upon his lap a
Bible he was reading when the prisoner
managed to get possession of his gun. AS
soon as he had this in his hands, he order
ed Polly to be quiet and that he intended
to loosen his shackels and flee 4 struggle
ensued and the gun was discharged the
load entering the old mans leg. From
the effects of the wound he died in about
ten days. Bates was convicted and after
wards hung in the old court room at Bur
Hngame.
The trial of Jack True by the
district court for the murder Of
William Price and his subsequent
conviction of mansiaughter is still fresh in
the memory of the people of this city; as is
also the sentencing of two Seminoles
Washington and SimOns, to be hung last
February for the rape of white woman in
the territory some time before. The same
gallows which now awaits Moser was built
for their execution: but few days before
the event was to take place the president
committed their sentence to imprisonment
for life.
Another trial, remarkable in the annals
of crime in this county, was that of the
two men, Winner and McNutt, who on
Christmas, 1871, killed painter going by
the name of Texas" in an old wooden
structure at % North Main, the
site of the recently vacated quarters
CT the Wichita Wholesale Grocery company
The murder was committed in order to Sc
cure the insurance upon McNutt's life
The two men enticed Texas into the old
building, dragged and murdered him, and
after mutilating his person set fire to the
building McNutt disappeared and the
next day when the body of poor Texas"
10, -, Il,
building Winner said that it was the
body of McNutt and claimed the amount
of the Insurance upon his life
An investigation, however, proved the
guilt of the two men and both were sent
to the penitentiary. where they are now
serving out life sentence Mosier
was tried Thursday, September 10th, with
Hon. Cassius Foster on the bench; Hon
W. c. Perry district attorney, Eugene Ha-
gan, assistant; A r. Aiusseller of this
city and Mr.. Hellar of Topeka, attorneys
for the defense. The case was given to the
jury at O'Clock at night and after being
out but for few minutes they returned
verdict of guilty as charged in the indict-
ment 1t was not claimed by the defense
that any error had been made by the court,
the time that the only hope of salvation
was from the president of the United
States, The next day friday he
was brought into court to receive
his sentence. When arraigned he stood
mOtionlesS as a statute and apparently
perfectly unconcerned. When asked if he
had anything to say why sentence should
not be passed upon him he answered in a
way, No" Whereupon the
court ordered that he be taken hence to
the Jail of Sedgwick county and there be
and that on Tuesday. the 18th
day Of November. between the hours of
a. m. and y m, he be hanged by the neck
until dead. During the time the court was
sentence, Mosier stood with
an air Of perfect unconcern, not a muscle
Of his face moving or showing any change
in his stohd countenance
\ petition was signed that day by the
jurors who tried the case asking the .
President for communication of the sentence /
to Imprisonment for life This WAS the ,
first of the petitions that reached the ex-
acutive. Another being sent from his /
home at Anthony and still,others from this /
;ity; but in each case President Cleveland .
refused TO interfere
THE CRIME
If which he was convicted was one re
atrocious and cold blooded.
wen rs told by himself or Bob Arner. the
,nly living eve witness. there appears 10 be
absolutely no defense that could be intro
iuced, except insanity.
Thursday morning Oct 29th. 1886. Mo-
'ier; his victim. Hugh B. LAWYER, and Bob
Arner, a young man whom the latter had
persuaded TO accompany them. left An
hony TO go down into the Territory. o>ten-
lbly 10 bring back a load of furniture
" hen they reached Mr.. Davis. about eight
niles south Of Anthony Mosier suggested
hat they get gun and kill prairie chick
ms. The idea was instantly seconded by
he other TWO. One barrel was loaded and
hey borrowed ammunition to load the
'ther. Some distance on the road he
hot the barrel with the old load
n at bird and at the next
louse they came 10 they borrowed amuni-
ion again: 81 that both barrels had fresh
Dads
They passed alons very pleasantly with
ut any particular incidents until about
usk of that evening. They had reached
oint quarter of mile beyond the state
me and twenty-seven miles from Anthony:
.rner and LAWYER were sitting together on
be front seat and Mosier in the back OF
be wagon; luu in the conversation had